Business Communication for Students .ppt

Job

1. JOB APPLICATION LETTERS
& RESUME

2. Job Application Letters

When you write a letter of application for a job, you promise to offer your
services to a prospective employer.

In other words, you are trying to sell your services.

Hence the general principles governing a sales letter will be applicable to
job application letters also.

They are always accompanied by your resumé or curriculum vitae. So your
job application letters should always have two essential parts:

1. Cover Letter and 2. Resumé.

The purpose of your job application letter is to persuade your employers
to read your attached Resumé, and the purpose of your Resumé is to
motivate your employers to contact you for an interview.

Hence each of them plays an important role in your job search.
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3. Job Application Letters

Your Cover Letter must:
gain attention and develop an interest in the employer
about your qualification (introductory paragraph);
carry conviction with the help of your past performance and
testimonials (main body); and
motivate the prospective employer to take an action, i.e.,
grant you an interview (concluding paragraph).

Introduction (gaining attention and developing interest)
Include the following in your introductory paragraph:
State why you are applying and/or where you discovered
the job opening and which job you are applying for. You
can apply either after seeing the advertisement, by hearing
about the vacancy or through personal contacts.
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4. Job Application Letters
Summarize your best credentials.

But remember to stand out from the other applicants
as your reader’s mail box will be overflowing with
many cover letters and resumés like yours.

By avoiding the usual routine beginnings such as
‘With reference to your advertisement ...‘ or ‘In
response to your advertisement ...‘, you can appear
to be different from others in your style of writing as
shown below:
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5. Job Application Letters
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6. Job Application Letters
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7. Job Application Letters

Main Text (convincing the reader that you are the best
candidate)

In this part, sell your skills. In other words, describe your
academic and professional skills.

But remember not to make this section a replica of your
resume. Present only the highlights of your assets. You can
follow these guidelines:
Impress upon the reader how the company stands to benefit from
your skills rather than talking about how the job will make you
happy.
Give specific details of your achievements. For examples, if you
have been rewarded for accomplishing a difficult project, mention
the nature of reward, type of project, and also the year/month
during which you got the reward:
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8. Job Application Letters
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9. Job Application Letters

Conclusion (Persuading the employer to action)

The concluding paragraph of your letter has two important functions:
to ask the reader for a specific action
to make the reply easy

Generally the action you request is to give you a chance for an interview.
But do not demand it.

Try to sound natural and appreciative. You can express your willingness to
come and meet the personnel at his office at a convenient time.

In addition, make the request easy to be fulfilled by stating your phone
number and the best time to reach you or by mentioning that you will give
a ring in a few days.

Refer again to your strongest selling point and, if desired, your date of
availability.
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10. Job Application Letters
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11. Job Application Letters
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12. Job Application Letters
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Subject: Application for Internship Placement at (company’s name)

Dear Sir/Madam,
My name is _______________. I am a _____ year student, majoring in ______(course)___________ from
_____(university/college/institution name)_________. I am writing this email to seek your kind request for a
possibility of an internship placement/job in ____(company’s name) ___ during my final semester for
____(duration)____ starting from ___(starting date) ___ until _____(end date)______.

I came across your organization's website and I am interested in internship opportunities available. I
believe that I am able to contribute to the success of your organization with the knowledge and skills I have
acquired during my studies.
Attached also is the internship request letter from the university and acceptance form for the industrial
training placement for your evaluation. It is hoped that this application will receive due attention and
consideration from you.

Please feel free to contact me at phone number or email me at email address for further details and
inquiries.
Thank you for your time and consideration.

Regards,

13. Resume

Resumés or curriculum vitae are part of your job application letter.

They are technical as well as marketing documents which present
your past and present performance to your prospective employers
so that they can assess your future potential.

In fact, a prospective employer forms his first impression of you from
the resumé.

Of course a resumé will not get you hired, but it can put you on the
short list of candidates to be considered.

The people doing the hiring have more applications than they can
handle, and hence, they naturally look for ways of narrowing down
the candidates to a manageable number.

So if your resumé is effective, you have opened the door to possible
employment.
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14. Resume

Your resumé should present a biographical sketch, which is
objective, easily accessible, and detailed.

It does not mean that you should include your entire history
your resumé accompanies the cover letter (Exhibits 13.9 and
13.10) of your job application, both share the same objective
of getting you an opportunity for an interview.

Hence, you can give a more detailed information during the
interview.
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15. Resume

Appearance and Elements Your resumé, like every important business document,
should be impeccable.

Any mistakes or sloppiness here could cost you the job by raising doubts in an
employer’s mind.

Because the design of resumes can be complicated, many candidates hire
professional services to create them.

Remember, the purpose of the resumé is to get an interview.

It must be well organized so that vital information is readily accessible.

Your resumé should reflect the professional image you want to create. It should be:

neat and error-free with no whiteout or hand corrections;
legible and avoid crowding;
printed on good quality paper of A-4 size; and
reproduced clearly on a high-quality printer or copy machine.
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16. Resume

Your resumé should almost never exceed two pages in length, and
one is usually better.

Employers are often unimpressed with longer resumes, which are
hard to read and can seem padded, especially when they come
from people with comparatively little job experience.

A long resume may even prompt your disqualification early in the
selection process.

While resumes can be organized in more than one way, they will
almost always contain the same basic information.

Resumes are not autobiographies.

The purpose is to get an interview, not to tell your life history.
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17. Resume

Personal Information

The first thing an employer needs to know is who you are and where you
can be reached.

So include your name, address, phone numbers, e-mail address, and
website under this heading.

Make sure that the information allows an interested employer to reach you
easily.

If you are currently employed, this can be difficult and delicate. Career
specialists recommend that you proceed ‘carefully and cautiously’ and set
up boundaries to keep your job search out of your current employment.

You may not want to list your current business phone or business e-mail. A
personal e-mail address and home or cell phone is preferable to the
current employer’s. You might set up a separate e-mail account especially
for seeking employment. If you will not be at your university or other
current address for long, you will want to list both a permanent home
address and the university address. Indicate how long (i.e. ‘until June 31’)
an address will be valid.
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18. Resume

Career/Professional Objective This element is
optional. But most employers agree that a
statement of professional objective should be
included in a resume.

However if you decide to state your objective,
make it effective by being as specific as possible
about what you want:
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19. Resume

Education/Academic Preparation

If you apply for a job when you are about to graduate, your educational
qualification and experience are your highest selling point.

Employers are usually interested in learning about your academic training,
especially education and training since high school, degree earned, major
and minor fields of study, courses done, and also the practical experience
gained during your graduation.

Begin with your most recent education and work backward. If the
information will be helpful and if space permits, you may consider listing
notable courses you have taken. If your grade-point average is impressive,
include it.

Finally, note any honours you have earned. If you received awards for
other accomplishments, consider listing all your achievements in a separate
section entitled ‘Awards and Honours’.
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20. Resume

Work Experience/Professional Skills

Every employer wants to know what kind of work you have performed.
When describing your work experience, list your jobs in chronological
order, with the current or last one first.

Include any part time or summer internships or projects done, even if
unrelated to your career objectives. The employers will see your ability to
get and hold a job—an important qualification in itself.

Each entry in this heading includes the name and location of the
organization where you have worked or done your assignment, your job
title/designation, the duration of your work and also a brief summary of
the work.

There is no need to use complete sentences; phrases will do. Be sure to use
very concrete language, including technical terminology to describe the
work you performed.

Place this section either before or following the section on education,
depending on which will be most important to an employer.
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21. Resume

Activities and Achieve/Special Interests and Aptitudes

Most employers want to know about special abilities that will make you a
more valuable employee.

These include community service/volunteer activities (cite offices you have
held), languages you can write or speak, special equipment you can
operate, relevant hobbies, and so on.

The key here is to include only information that the employer will find
useful, and that casts you in a favourable light. You can group your
activities into categories such as College Activities, Community or Social
Services, Seminars and Work shops, etc.

Mention the awards or honours you have received.

Give details regarding the nature of award, the activity for which you
received the award, date or month and year of receiving, and also the
authority from whom you have received.
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22. Resume

Memberships

If you belong to any organizations in your field, list them under
‘Memberships’.

Be sure to include any offices or committee appointments you
have held.
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23. Resume

References

This section should always be the last one in a resume. For space and privacy
considerations, you may simply include the phrase ‘References available upon
request’ and supply the names only when and if you are asked as employers
rarely investigate references until you are under serious consideration.

If, however your references are impressive enough to merit listing, follow
these basic guidelines. Choose only the three or four people who combine the
best elements of familiarity with your work and a credible position.

Recommendations from high status people carry more weight, but a reference
from a celebrity who barely knows you is not as good as one from an
unknown person who has worked closely with you.

In any case, do get permission beforehand from the people you list as
references.
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24. Resume

Types of Resumés

There are three types of resumé: chronological, functional, and hybrid (also
called combination resumé). Each has its own advantages, and the one you
choose will probably depend on the specific job description you are applying
for and your past accomplishments.

Chronological

The chronological resumé emphasizes your education and work experience and
is most effective when such experience clearly relates to the job you are
seeking. Within the categories ‘Education’, ‘Work Experience’, and ‘Related
Experience’ (if you have such a section), list entries in reverse order, beginning
with your most recent experience. Under each position, describe your
responsibilities and accomplishments, emphasizing ways in which they
prepared you for the job you are now seeking.

If you are a recent graduate, listing your education first makes sense. The
chronological approach is the most common way of organizing the information
in a resumé and it is preferred by most employers.
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25. Resume

Functional

The functional resumé features the skills you bring to the job (organizer,
researcher, manager, etc.). It provides examples of the most significant
experiences that demonstrate these abilities.

This type emphasizes individual fields of competence and is hence used by
applicants who are just entering the job market, who want to redirect their
careers, or who have little continuous career-related experience.

In a nutshell, it demonstrates the applicants’ ability to handle the position
they are applying for.

When you write a functional resumé, follow the ‘Skills’ category immediately
with a chronological ‘Work History’ and a scaled-down ‘Education’ section
that lists only institutions, degrees, and dates.

Either of the latter two categories may come first, depending on whether
you gained most of your skills and experience in your college or on the job.
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26. Resume

Hybrid/Combination

This includes the best features of the chronological and
functional resumés.

However this type is not popular or not commonly used as it
tends to be very long and also it may turn out to be
repetitious in nature.

Whatever format you choose, remember that strong resumés
possess the same qualities:
They focus on the employer’s needs.
They are concise.
They are honest.
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27. Resume

Electronic Resumés

Although paper copy or traditional print copy resumés (Exhibit
13.12) are very much in vogue, electronic forms of resumés are
becoming more and more popular these days.

Whatever you have gathered from the preceding discussion on
paper copy resumés holds good for electronic resumés also; the
appearance, elements, and the three types, namely chronological,
functional, and the hybrid variety are applicable to electronic
resumés also. But as against the paper copy resumés which are
intended to be read by humans, electronic resumés are scanned by
computers.

Electronic resumés (Exhibit 13.11) are an increasingly widespread
alternative to the traditional print variety Since many employers
look for—and sometimes even require—applicants to submit
information electronically, it is important to know this type in some
detail.
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TASK:
Write your own Cover Letter
and Resume.